


All's Fair In Love & Thievery

by magicsophicorn



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-25 15:03:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4965457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsophicorn/pseuds/magicsophicorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina Mills, A.K.A The Queen, is the best jewel thief in the business. But when she meets her biggest rival, The Scarlet Wolf, on a job one night her life takes an unexpected turn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Two Jewel Thieves Walk Into A Heist

**Author's Note:**

> JEWEL THIEVES AU! Yes, that needed to be in capitals because that's how excited I am about this AU. Chapter 1 was written for Red Queen Week Day 5 - AU, and it has now apparently turned into a multi-chapter story in my head. *sigh*
> 
> The super insanely talented sinksanksockie had drawn the most incredible fanart to accompany this story. You can [see it here](http://sinksanksockie.tumblr.com/post/130832414337/two-jewel-thieves-walk-into-a-heist-red-queen). Do it, you won't regret it!

Regina checked the time on her watch again.

02:38:47

She had exactly 1 minute and 13 seconds left to go. She ran through the plan once more in her mind while she waited. 

At precisely 02:40:00 the guard passed by the statue that Regina was crouched behind. In one swift movement she stood and stepped out into his path, spraying him in the face with a chemical compound of her own creation. He went down like a sack of potatoes. He wouldn't remember a thing when he awoke in around 30 minutes time. 

Regina stepped over the now unconscious guard and hurried down the corridor he had just come from, her heels clicking quietly as she went. Some might have thought heels impractical for the activities she would be getting up to that evening, however Regina prided herself on being able to run equally fast in heels as without. After all, there was no reason not to look good she thought, even if no one at all would see her that evening, should everything go to plan.

On reaching the security doors Regina pulled out her tool kit. After 30 seconds of tinkering with the control panel the doors slid open with a low hiss. She checked her watch. On schedule so far.

Regina rolled her eyes at the laser grid covering the next room. She blamed Catherine Zeta Jones entirely for the number of places that had them installed these days. She'd be damned if she was going to start doing gymnastics tonight though, she was a bit more refined than that, thank you very much. She pulled an adapted laser pointer from her utility belt and aimed a quick burst at each of the sensors. The grid fizzled and disappeared. Regina calmly strode through the room.

She paused when she reached the next set of doors, listening hard to make sure there were no guards on the other side. There shouldn't be, not if her research was anything to go by, but it never hurt to be sure.

Satisfied that the room was empty, Regina crouched down and began to pick the lock. It seemed almost anticlimactic that after all the guards and high-tech security she'd had to get through to get this far, that the final obstacle was a simple Yale lock. Not that she would complain about anything that made her job easier that is.

With a soft click the final obstacle was overcome, and Regina stepped into the room to claim her prize.

The tiara was sitting on a velvet cushion atop a pedestal in the centre of the room. It was easily the most beautiful object she'd ever been hired to steal. 

She had just taken two strides towards it when something hit her hard across the shoulders, sending her flying. She just about had time to tuck into a roll as she fell towards the floor, and the moment her feet connected with the floor again she was up and whirling round to face the door.

Instead of the guard she was expecting to see, there was a woman leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on her face. Regina blinked in surprise.

The woman was dressed in a skin-tight black leather cat-suit with bright red trim and accents, her hair was long and dark, also with red streaks in it, and it was falling freely in loose curls around the woman's shoulders. It wasn't very practical, Regina thought, she herself preferred to keep her hair tied back in a bun whilst on the job, that way there was less chance of any being left behind for the CSIs to find. The thing that drew Regina's attention the most though was the pair of what looked like night vision goggles pushed up on top of the woman's head so that they sort of resembled animal ears. Regina felt her lip curl in distaste. The whole look was just so… clichéd.

"I didn't realise Catwoman was in town," she muttered.

The woman chuckled and planted her hands on her hips.

"Oh please, don't act like you haven't heard of me."

Regina hated to appear ignorant, but she actually wasn't sure who this woman was. Judging by the outfit she was there for the same reason she herself was, to steal the tiara, which meant that there were a few possible candidates. She hadn't known any other thieves were onto the same job as her though, she'd have to charge the client extra for this when it was all over. She also hadn't realised there were any other female jewel thieves in the country, as far as she had been aware she was working in an exclusively male dominated profession. That was the main reason she'd chosen her business alias - The Queen - she wanted all the rich misogynistic bastards that she stole from to know that they had been robbed by a woman.

The other woman sighed dramatically and turned to the nearest wall. She pulled an aerosol can from her belt and raised her arm. Regina realised it was spray paint. After a few quick strokes the woman stepped back and looked at Regina expectantly.

"Does that help jog your memory?"

Regina only needed to glance at the red shape currently dripping down the wall to realise who the other woman was.

"The Scarlet Wolf…" she whispered in surprise.

Regina considered herself the best thief in the business by a long way, but if she had to say she had a rival, she supposed that The Scarlet Wolf would be the closest thing she had. There had only ever been two times in her life when another thief had beaten her to a prize, and both times it had been The Scarlet Wolf. She knew because the woman's calling card was to spray paint a red howling wolf in any room she stole from. It was a little too obvious for Regina's tastes. Her trademark was to replace every item she stole with an exact replica, meaning it could be days or even weeks before anyone even noticed the original was missing, depending on how often the item in question was inspected or cleaned. It was a much more subtle tactic, but it worked for her.

The Scarlet Wolf grinned.

"Oh good, you have heard of me. I would so hate for _The Queen_ not to know who it was that was stealing her prize from her..."

Regina scoffed to cover her surprise that this woman knew who she was. Plus there was not a chance in hell she would be giving up this prize. She was also aware that this little encounter was not part of her plan, and they were running out of time before the guards would wake up and come to check the room. She needed to get the tiara and get out of there. Fast.

She darted towards to the pedestal in the centre of the room. Her hand had just closed around the tiara when she felt a sharp kick to her stomach. Regina stumbled backwards, tiara in hand, and The Scarlet Wolf was on her once more. This time though Regina was able to block the kick with her forearms. She swung out in retaliation, her fist connecting with her opponent's face. They traded blows, spinning and punching and kicking. They were equally matched in skill, but Regina was horrified to realise that they were not equally matched in strength. The Scarlet Wolf was much stronger than she looked. Regina was being slowly driven back to the wall furthest away from the door. She grabbed a spare knock-out spray from her belt but had only managed to raise it halfway towards her attacker's face when it was kicked out her hand.

All of a sudden The Scarlet Wolf slammed into Regina, pinning her against the wall with her entire body weight.

It felt as though time stood still. For a moment neither woman did anything but breathe. Regina could feel The Scarlet Wolf's chest press closer against her as she inhaled. The woman really was stunningly beautiful up close.

"I'm so glad we got to do this," The Scarlet Wolf whispered, "I'm such a big fan of yours."

She licked her lips and Regina's eyes were drawn to the movement. 

"My name's Ruby, by the way. What's yours?"

When Regina looked back up Ruby's eyes were on her lips. She swallowed.

"Regina," she whispered. The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it. The first rule of the business was never to reveal who you were, and she had just done so, to a rival no less. What was wrong with her?

Ruby leaned in towards her and Regina felt her heart pounding for reasons that had nothing to do with the physical exertion of their fight only moments before. This could not possibly be happening.

Just as Ruby's lips brushed her own, Regina heard a soft click, and felt Ruby smile.

Instantly Ruby stepped back and Regina hated herself for missing the contact.

"Well that was easier than I was expecting," Ruby chuckled.

Regina tried to step towards her and only then realised what had happened. Her left wrist was handcuffed to the radiator on the wall next to her. Regina wanted to scream at her own stupidity, but she wasn't about to give the Wolf the satisfaction.

Ruby stepped towards her once again and grasped the tiara in Regina's hand.

"I'll take that, thank you," she said with a smirk. Regina didn't bother trying to hold on to it, there wouldn't be much point given her current predicament, although she did briefly consider punching the woman with her free hand, but then that probably wouldn't be wise in the long run, so she refrained.

Ruby twirled the tiara in her hands as she began to walk backwards away from Regina.

"Well, it's truly been a pleasure, your majesty," she said, a wicked grin on her face and bowing her head in mock deference.

When she reached the doorway she paused.

"You should come find me sometime, we can pick up where we left off." She winked. "Well, that's if you don't get arrested tonight, I suppose."

Regina could hear her laughing as she ran off down the corridor.

She glanced at her watch. She had precisely 43 seconds until a guard arrived and she was caught.

With a frustrated sigh she pulled her lock picks out of her belt with her free hand and began working on the handcuff using her mouth and her right hand. She couldn't believe she had let the situation get so out of hand. She prided herself on being a professional after all.

Regina rubbed her wrist as she strode down the corridor towards the fire escape. It wasn't part of her original exit strategy as it would set the alarm off, but she'd be long gone before anyone got there so it didn't matter too much.

As frustrated as she was at herself for her momentary loss of judgement, she reminded herself that the evening hadn't been a total failure.

She had found out who The Scarlet Wolf was, for starters.

Regina threw open the fire escape and began sprinting down the road.

She'd also found out how The Scarlet Wolf liked to work. She was ballsy, Regina had to give her that, but she also wasn't all that smart, and she definitely wasn't as well prepared as Regina was.

Regina felt the comforting weight of the tiara in a small pouch against her back. Ruby hadn't even noticed that she'd switched it for her replica while they had been fighting. Regina wondered if she would notice herself, or if it would only be when she handed it over to her client that she found out it was a fake. Regina couldn't help but smirk at the thought. She'd like to be a fly on the wall in that room.

She had a feeling she wouldn't need to go looking for Ruby.

The Scarlet Wolf would no doubt hunt her down after this.


	2. An Uninvited Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scarlet Wolf visits the Queen with a proposition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this has apparently turned into a multi-chapter story in my head... Because I didn't have enough WIPs already.

Regina unlocked the door to her apartment with a small sigh of relief. It had been a long, but amusing, day.

In her ‘day job’ as a fine art consultant she had been asked to valuate a painting which had turned out to be one of her own replicas. It was a piece she had stolen months ago, and she knew for a fact that the replica she had left in its place had been sold twice already since then before ending up with its current owners.

It was a testament, really, to the quality of her forgeries. She knew they wouldn’t fool a highly trained eye such as hers, but to anyone else they were indistinguishable from the original.

She’d had no choice but to reveal the painting as a fake though. She couldn’t risk her professional reputation being ruined should the piece ever be examined by another expert in the future and be revealed to be a forgery.

Entering her apartment Regina slipped off her heels. She hung her coat in the closet and placed her shoes on the rack. She liked everything to be in order.

She walked down the hallway to the living room but stopped suddenly in the doorway.

Lounging on the couch, with her feet up on the arm of the seat, was none other than The Scarlet Wolf.

Regina had been wondering how long it would take her to find her. Two weeks, apparently. Interesting. Regina had found out everything there was to know about Ruby Lucas the day after they had met. She just hadn’t had a reason to use that knowledge.

“Nice pad you've got here.”

Regina sat down in the seat opposite Ruby. She was wearing tight black jeans and a black off-the-shoulder top. Both had bright red stitching. The woman was like a walking cliché.

“No catsuit this evening?” Regina remarked dryly.

Ruby glared at her. She really did hate the Catwoman references, apparently. She’d have to remember that.

“If you must sit like that could you at least remove your boots?”

Ruby grinned and kicked off her boots. They hit the floor with a dull thud.

“Wine?”

Only then did Regina notice that Ruby had opened her bottle of _Domaine Leroy Richebourg Grand Cru_ and had clearly already drank at least a glass full. Regina ground her teeth in annoyance. She had been saving that for a special occasion, it had cost $3000 after all.

“Please.”

Well, if the bottle was open she wasn’t going to waste the chance to taste it purely out of spite.

Ruby leaned forward and poured a second glass. Regina took it from her with a nod.

She sniffed the wine then took a small sip. Worth every penny.

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this evening?”

Ruby eyed her for a moment before responding.

“You know why. I want my tiara. And do you always talk like that?”

Regina’s lips curved into a smile.

“Yes, and you know as well as I do that I don’t have the tiara. I delivered it to the client the same night I stole it.”

Ruby downed the rest of the wine in her glass and Regina winced. What a waste.

“Of course, and that’s why you’re going to help me steal it back.”

Regina laughed.

“Absolutely not.”

Ruby leaned back and stretched her arms above her head. Regina tried not to look at the toned stomach which was suddenly on display.

“I thought you might say that. But you don’t actually have a choice. You _will_ help me steal it back, or I’ll hand you over to the FBI.”

Regina scoffed. She knew an empty threat when she heard one.

“And they’ll believe you why exactly?”

Ruby pulled out her phone, touched the screen, and then passed it to Regina.

Regina felt her face pale. She was looking at a photo of herself from that night, lifting the tiara off of its plinth. Evidence didn’t get much more damning than that. Ruby must’ve taken it before she announced her presence. She wasn't about to let Ruby know that she was worried though.

“You do realise that presenting that to the FBI would somewhat incriminate yourself as well?”

Ruby shrugged.

“Not if I sent it anonymously. I might not use as many gadgets as you, I’m more of a _physical_ thief, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know people who can do things like that…”

The way she emphasised the word physical sent a shiver down Regina’s spine, but she tried desperately to think of a way out of the situation.

“Oh come on, it’ll be fun!" Ruby said, rolling her eyes. "You can leave another replica, if we do it right no one will even know.”

“Why do you want the tiara so badly? The job can’t have been worth enough money to make all this effort worth it.”

Ruby growled, stood up and snatched her phone back out of Regina’s hand.

“That's none of your business. Are you in or not?”

Regina tried to weigh up her options. The best course of action, she decided, would be to agree to the job and then double-cross Ruby at a later date.

“Alright. I’ll help you.”

Ruby ran a hand through her hair and sighed, in a move that looked an awful lot like relief.

“Great. Come to my place tomorrow morning, bring your plan. I’m assuming you already know where I live?”

Regina smiled in answer. She stood and gestured to the door. No reason to forgo manners just because the guest was uninvited and, frankly, unwanted.

She waited as Ruby pulled her boots back on and then walked into the hallway, assuming that Ruby was following her. When she reached the front door she opened it and then turned back to find Ruby right behind her, incredibly close.

“Thanks for the wine,” Ruby murmured, her voice low, and just like the first night they met Regina found herself unable to tear her gaze away from those lips.

Ruby's lips quirked and then she leaned in and kissed Regina. It was soft and chaste, but it lasted significantly longer than last time, and thankfully did not end with Regina being handcuffed to anything.

Ruby then sauntered away without a backwards glance, and Regina found herself staring after her as she went. She might be the most irksome person she’d ever met, but Ruby really was the epitome of physical perfection.

Regina hastily shut her door when she noticed her neighbour, Mr Gryllides, staring at her across the hallway.

She had to stop letting Ruby do this to her. That was twice now that Ruby had thrown her completely off guard. Regina prided herself on her calm and composure, so this was simply unacceptable. She would just have to get through this job and then ensure that she would never have to see Ruby again. It was the only solution.

Regina rolled her shoulders and headed to her office.

She had planning to do.


	3. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina goes to Ruby's apartment to share her plan for stealing back the tiara.

Regina wasn't entirely sure what she had been expecting Ruby's apartment to be like, but it probably wasn't this.

The building was essentially a warehouse, and when she'd first arrived she'd thought for a moment that she was in the wrong place. But then she'd spotted a red sports car parked outside and realised that no, this really was where Ruby lived.

After searching for a moment for the door, Regina rang the doorbell, which seemed somewhat out of place for a warehouse, and then adjusted her coat as she waited.

After a few minutes the door swung open to reveal Ruby in nothing but a towel.

"Using the front door. Controversial," Ruby said, grinning widely, "I half expected to just wake up to you making me breakfast in the kitchen."

Regina scoffed slightly as she stepped past Ruby into the building.

"In your dreams darling."

She heard Ruby laugh as she shut the door and followed behind her into the apartment. When they emerged into the main room Regina turned around just in time to see Ruby turn her back to her, and drop her towel to the floor.

"I'm going to take a quick shower, make yourself at home," Ruby called over her shoulder as she disappeared through a door.

Regina quickly began looking round the apartment in a desperate attempt not to dwell on the image of Ruby's naked behind, which she was pretty sure was now seared into her brain forever.

Inside, the apartment looked just as much like a warehouse as it had on the outside. The main living room, if you could call it that, was an enormous open space with couches and beanbags littered around it. At one end there was a pool table and foosball game next to an giant fridge full of beer, and at the other end an enormous flat-screen TV with a variety of games consoles. Regina could imagine the kind of parties that Ruby probably held here often.

She heard the sound of water running and headed over to the kitchen area, which was just off to the side of the main space, in order to put some distance between herself and that sound. She was having a hard time trying not to imagine the sight she had just seen, but covered in water. 

To distract herself Regina pulled out the diagrams she had brought with her and spread them out on the kitchen counter, which was surprisingly clean. Or perhaps not that surprising since when then Regina opened the fridge out of curiosity there wasn't much in there other than beer and left-over pizza. Ruby clearly didn't cook much.

After a few minutes of Regina reminding herself of her plan, Ruby emerged in yet another black and red outfit. As she walked towards the kitchen she picked up the towel she had discarded earlier and began drying her hair with it.

"Still no breakfast?" Ruby teased with a small grin.

Regina rolled her eyes.

"Do you want to hear the plan or not?"

Ruby pulled out a stool and sat at the counter.

"Of course. I'm all ears. Shoot."

Regina pointed to the centre of her diagram.

"Alright, here's the situation. The tiara was bought by businessman Ewan McAllister and he keeps it at his penthouse on the top floor of the McAllister Tower. Security within the apartment itself is minimal. Just an alarm and some cameras. They're on a wireless system so will be easy enough to hack into as soon as we're in range."

"There's a 'but' coming isn't there? I'm definitely feeling a 'but'…"

Ruby smirked at her own joke and Regina ignored her.

" _However_ , getting into the building will be more of a challenge. There are a lot of guards, and these guys are very well trained. I've checked out sewer and basement access and that's a no go unless we have a significant amount of explosives, which I don't. The only viable option really would be the roof, but even that doesn't seem possible since we don't have a helicopter, and even if we did that would be a somewhat conspicuous entrance."

"Oh you leave that to me. I'll get us on that roof, no problem."

Regina looked up at Ruby who was smiling in a way that, frankly, made her a little uneasy.

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll get us there safely and undetected, I promise you that. You just worry about what we do when we're in there. You'll be leaving a replica, right?"

Regina wanted to press Ruby for details. She always planned her jobs meticulously, so the thought of going into one not even knowing how she was going to get into the building was her worst nightmare. But she was fairly certain that Ruby wouldn't divulge her plan no matter how hard she pushed. She would have no choice but to go along with it.

"Yes I will. Alright then, assuming you can get us onto the roof, we go down this ventilation shaft which will bring us out here. I will then wirelessly disable the alarm and the cameras, then we come out from this vent here, grab the tiara, leave the replica and then go back out the same way we came in."

Ruby clapped her hand together.

"Perfect. When do we do this?"

"Tonight. Mr McAllister will be out until at least 3am because he's attending the opening of his new club. We won't get a better opportunity than this. Will that be a problem?"

Ruby shook her head, sending a few droplets of water flying.

"Not at all. Alright then. I'll meet you outside this building at midnight."

Ruby pointed on the diagram to one of the neighbouring buildings and Regina nodded. It made sense to meet somewhere out of sight of their target.

Regina started to gather up the diagram but was interrupted by a hand on her arm.

"Could you leave that? I'll need it to sort out our entrance."

Regina dropped the diagram and nodded. Stepping away from the counter she once again adjusted her coat.

"Very well. I'll see you tonight then."

Ruby made no move to stand and Regina realised she would have to see herself out.

Leaving the building Regina felt a strange mix of unease and anticipation. She still hated not knowing a part of the plan, but at the same time she was almost looking forward to seeing what Ruby would come up with. She was, after all, almost as good a thief as Regina herself.

But she still needed to come up with a plan of what to do after they stole the tiara. She had to make sure that Ruby would not continue to be a problem for her, she couldn't have her blackmailing her with that photo whenever she felt like it, after all. When she had agreed to this job it had been with the intention to double-cross Ruby afterwards. So she was somewhat surprised to find that she was actually hesitant to do so. There was no good reason not to, she reminded herself.

So Regina began to do what she did best, to plan.

It was important to be prepared, after all.


	4. Zip-wires and gunshots and parachutes, oh my!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Queen and The Wolf attempt to steal the tiara. Again. Only this time, together.

Regina checked her watch for the fourth time since arriving. There was still no sign of Ruby.

She was just considering leaving when she felt a breath on the back of her neck and then a now familiar voice whispered in her ear. Regina shivered involuntarily.

"You know, for a thief you're surprisingly easy to sneak up on."

She turned around and, unsurprisingly, Ruby didn't step back, meaning they were mere millimetres apart. 

"Nice of you to show up, finally," Regina commented dryly. Ruby just grinned.

"Shall we?" Ruby held out her arm towards the building they were stood in front of and Regina frowned in confusion.

"Clearly you were looking at my diagram upside down, the tiara is that way dear," she said, gesturing in the opposite direction.

"I know. But to get to the roof we need to go this way."

Ruby darted forward and opened the door to the building, then stood aside and bowed.

"After you, your majesty."

Unable to think of a comeback for a change, Regina held her head high and walked through the door. Ruby entered behind her and immediately headed over to the elevator. Regina followed, growing increasingly more nervous about how exactly they were going to reach the roof of their target building from here. Ruby pressed the button for the top floor and the doors screeched shut. Standing side by side, the first few floors passed in awkward silence.

"So, will Batman be joining us this evening?"

Regina didn't look at Ruby, but heard her sigh beside her.

"You know the Catwoman jokes seem less witty every time you make one. And no, not unless he's coming to stop us, Batman's the good guy. Jeez, read a comic."

Regina fumed silently to herself for the rest of the elevator ride.

When they reached their destination Ruby strode purposefully down the corridor to a door marked 'Maintenance'. A short staircase later and they were stood on the roof, looking out over towards the McAllister Tower. Regina's unease increased tenfold.

She watched in fascinated horror as Ruby removed her, frankly enormous, backpack and pulled out what looked like a giant harpoon gun attached to a large coil of wire.

Oh no. Oh god no. This couldn't be happening. This was the kind of thing people did in movies, not real life.

Ruby then leapt up onto the ledge around the edge of the roof, as if there wasn't a 50 storey drop in front of her, crouched down and aimed at the roof of the McAllister tower.

When she pulled the trigger Ruby swayed dangerously with the force of the recoil and Regina felt her heart leap in fear. She didn't even dare look over to the other roof to see what the harpoon had impaled itself on.

Ruby seemed completely oblivious to Regina's terror as she hopped down from the ledge and pulled the rest of the wire over to the nearest chimney stack and attached it securely around it. She then reached up, grabbed the taut wire with both hands and hung from it for a few moments. Apparently satisfied with its weigh bearing capabilities she dropped back down to the roof and turned to Regina with a triumphant grin.

"No. No, nope. No. No way. Not a chance in hell."

Ruby blinked at her for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Don't tell me The Queen is afraid of heights?"

Regina glared at her.

"Heights no, plummeting to my death from 50 storeys, very much so, and with good reason."

Ruby continued to chuckle softly to herself as she knelt down and pulled two smaller backpacks out of her larger one.

"Here, this'll make you feel better then," Ruby said, holding one of them out to Regina. She took it warily.

"What is it?"

"A parachute."

"A PARACHUTE? Why do we need a parachute?"

Ruby once again dissolved into fits of giggles.

"Well hopefully we won't," she eventually managed to say, wiping tears from her eyes from laughing so hard, "but this way you can't fall to your death so, you know, problem solved."

Regina looked between Ruby and the parachute in her hand.

"You cannot seriously expect me to do this."

Ruby sighed and pulled out two harnesses from her backpack.

"Look Regina, as hilarious as it is watching the Queen of Cool crap her pants, I promise you we'll be totally safe. You'll be attached to the wire and in the very unlikely event of it failing just pull the chord on your parachute and you'll be fine."

Regina opened her mouth to protest but Ruby held up her hand before she could begin.

"I don't want to hear it. You said yourself the roof is the only way in, and this is the only way onto that roof. So stop whining and put your harness on."

Feeling suitable chastised, Regina did as she was told for a change. After all, she couldn't argue with that logic.

When they were both wearing their harnesses Ruby once again jumped up onto the ledge.

"Come on."

Regina swallowed hard then climbed up slowly onto the ledge, with significantly more care than Ruby had done so. With a roll of her eyes Ruby grabbed Regina's harness and attached it to the wire.

"Okay you're all set, just step off the edge and you'll zip straight over."

Regina took several deep breaths. Okay. She could do this. Okay.

She then made the fatal mistake of looking over the edge.

Her vision blurred and the distance to the ground seemed endless. Regina reached out blindly and grabbed Ruby's hand.

"I can't do this," she whispered, as much as it pained her to admit it.

Ruby squeezed her fingers.

"Alright, fine, we'll go together."

Ruby attached her own harness to the wire and manoeuvred herself so that she was stood almost in front of Regina.

"Hold on tightly to my waist."

Regina pressed herself into Ruby's back and wrapped her arms around her waist. The feeling of Ruby's muscular frame in her embrace briefly distracted Regina from what was about to happen, and then Ruby stepped off the edge and thank goodness she hadn't warned her because Regina was too caught off guard to even scream, which would have been a bit conspicuous, and very embarrassing, to say the least.

Thankfully it was over almost as quickly as it had begun.

Regina stumbled to find her feet as Ruby hit the ground running. When they finally came to a halt Regina stood gulping in air as Ruby unclipped their harnesses from the wire.

"I hope you appreciate the fact that I didn't just push you over the edge, by the way. See, I'm a nice person really," Ruby said with a smirk, but Regina really wasn't in any state to make a comeback. 

"So I got us onto the roof, now how do we get to the tiara?"

Regina pointed over at an air vent a few metres away and was relieved when Ruby took the lead, walking over and removing the cover, as it gave her a few more moments to collect herself.

By the time Ruby was lowering herself down into the vent Regina felt like her pulse was more or less back to normal. She climbed in after her and they slowly crawled along through the narrow ventilation shaft.

When they reached their destination Regina whispered to Ruby to stop, which she did with remarkable speed, causing Regina to crawl face first into her ass.

"Mmm, kinky," Ruby whispered, and Regina rolled her eyes at the ridiculous woman in front of her. She pulled out her phone and began working on disabling the cameras and alarms.

"Alright we're good to go," she said after a moment.

Ruby pushed at the vent cover and it fell to the floor with a loud clatter. They crawled out into the room and Regina was amazed at how graceful Ruby managed to look while doing so. She'd half made it out herself when a hand appeared in front of her face. Regina grasped it and allowed Ruby to pull her up.

"Your majesty," Ruby murmured as she pulled Regina up and into her, an arm sliding around her waist. Regina smirked. She was definitely feeling more like herself again.

"Concentrate wolf, we've got a job to do."

Ruby stepped away with a coy smile and Regina looked around the room. Not bad, as far as rich men's bachelor pads went anyway. This was certainly one of the more tastefully decorated that she'd had the pleasure of stealing from.

It only took a few moments of searching to locate the tiara, displayed prominently on a pedestal in a side room.

Regina double checked on her phone that she had indeed disabled the alarm on it, then swiftly replaced the tiara with her second replica of the thing.

She was just securing the real tiara into the pouch on her belt when a deafening siren began wailing around them.

"I thought you said you'd disabled the alarms?"

Regina looked over at Ruby to see her holding a large emerald necklace up to her chest. Regina ground her teeth as she dashed back over to the air vent they had emerged from.

"I did… _on the tiara!_ " She growled.

"Oh. Oops," Ruby said with a shrug, slipping the necklace on over her head. She didn't seem overly concerned.

"Come on! Unless you want to fight all the armed guards we need to get out of here!"

Regina crawled back into the air vent, trusting that Ruby would follow, and made her way back along and up as fast as the cramped space would allow. After what felt like an eternity she finally emerged back out into the fresh air on the roof. She was just helping Ruby out of the vent when the loud clang of a door flying open sounded to their left, shortly followed by the unmistakable crack of gunfire.

"Shit!" Regina hissed, ducking behind the vent and pulling Ruby down with her. "What do we do?"

Ruby reached for her hand, linking their fingers together.

"I have a plan, but you're not going to like it. Do you trust me?"

Another bullet whizzed over their heads. Regina was surprised to realize that she actually really did. She nodded, and Ruby squeezed her hand.

"Okay then… Run!"

Without waiting for a reply Ruby was up and in motion, pulling Regina with her. They dashed forward, the sound of gunshots getting louder and more frequent. Thank goodness these guys appeared to have terrible aim.

They were rapidly approaching the edge of the building and Ruby tightened her grip on Regina's hand. Before she could even register what was happening, Ruby had jumped and Regina had no choice to but to follow.

It was her worst nightmare. She was falling. Falling endlessly with the ground rushing towards her.

Regina focussed on Ruby's hand in hers, on the warmth, the security of it, because if she didn't she would have a heart attack in mid-air.

"When I let go, pull the chord!" Ruby yelled, the end of her words lost in the rushing wind.

Regina felt like time froze as she looked over at Ruby. The wind was pulling her hair in every direction and she was grinning widely. She looked so incredibly wild, and so very free.

But then her anchor was slipping through her fingers as Ruby let go of her hand.

"NOW!" She yelled.

Regina felt panic rising in her chest as she fumbled to find the chord. Ruby jerked suddenly out of her vision as she deployed her parachute, and after another agonizing second Regina managed to pull her own chord and join her.

The change in speed was drastic, knocking the air out of her lungs as the parachute opened and her descent suddenly slowed.

It was a remarkably different feeling to falling. It felt more like floating, and Regina was surprised to find she was kind of enjoying gliding through the air.

With a few yelled instructions from Ruby she managed to half steer her parachute to an alley a few blocks over from the tower. Regina hit the rapidly approaching ground hard and stumbled forward onto her knees. Ruby, of course, landed gracefully in front of her.

Once again a hand appeared in front of her face and Regina allowed Ruby to help her up.

"We did it!" Ruby exclaimed breathlessly, sounding just as giddy as Regina felt.

She blamed adrenaline for what she did next, surging forward and kissing Ruby soundly.

Ruby's hands instantly wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.

When Regina finally found some semblance of self-control and pulled away Ruby didn't let go of her waist.

"Come back to my place," Ruby whispered, the reflected lights of the city dancing in her eyes. She was so very beautiful. Alive in a way so few people were.

So, high on the adrenaline of the job, and the kiss, Regina agreed.


	5. Betrayal Doesn't Have To Be So Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina goes back to Ruby's apartment, but they aren't quite planning the same activities...

Regina reapplied her lipstick as Ruby unlocked the door to her apartment. Once opened, she bounded down the hallway to the living area, and Regina followed at a more sedate pace.

"That was so awesome!" Ruby crowed, clearly still high on the adrenaline rush from their successful heist and dramatic escape.

Regina emerged into the living area just in time to see Ruby flop down unceremoniously onto a couch, and she quirked an eyebrow at her in amusement.

Ruby jumped back up as if she'd only just remembered the reason why she had invited Regina back to her place, and in two long strides was standing in front of her.

Ruby grabbed her by the hips and pulled their bodies together, kissing her fiercely. Regina shivered at the first brush of Ruby's tongue over her lips, the movement promising of further pleasures to come.

After a few minutes Ruby pulled back slightly and frowned.

"Whoa, I feel… My head…"

Regina grasped Ruby by the arms as she began to sway.

"You drugged me?" Ruby asked incredulously, her words starting to slur.

She lurched forward as unconsciousness overtook her, and Regina caught her in her arms and lowered her gently to the floor. She quickly wiped any remaining lipstick from her mouth. The last thing she wanted was to knock herself out after all. She'd created the lipstick herself after seeing it on some spy TV show. She'd never had a chance to use it before and was very glad that it had worked as expected.

With Ruby unconscious, Regina began searching the apartment. It didn't take long to find what she was looking for, Ruby's laptop. She turned it on and inserted a flash drive, loading up the virus she'd written to find and destroy any copies of the photo Ruby had of her stealing the tiara, not only on this computer, but also on any linked cloud based storage facilities.

While the program was running Regina quickly looked through the rest of the hard drive to make sure there were no other photos or videos from that night. Thankfully she didn't find any. Although she was surprised to discover that, despite what the contents of Ruby's fridge might suggest, she was actually an avid cook, and had an impressive range of recipes saved on her computer.

When the virus finished running Regina removed the flash drive and shut down the laptop. Which just left one more thing to take care of. She turned back to Ruby with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry about this," she whispered. She really did feel guilty about drugging Ruby. Somehow the woman had wormed her way under Regina's skin, and she found she actually really liked her exuberance and just sheer love of life. But Regina couldn't risk anyone seeing that photo, so she had no choice but to take care of it.

Regina knelt down over Ruby's still form, the rise and fall of her chest the only indication that she was even still alive. She looked so different like this, so peaceful. Regina knew she had to work quickly, the lipstick would only knock someone out for about twenty minutes, probably less in Ruby's case since she was so physically fit. She began searching Ruby's pockets for her phone, and eventually found it tucked into the top of her left boot, after only a minor panic at not having encountered it in any of her pockets.

After running the same virus on the phone, Regina slipped it back into Ruby's boot and stood up. She felt almost like she should say something, goodbye, perhaps? But then she had a feeling she'd see Ruby again fairly soon, as she didn't seem like the kind of person who would just let go of the fact that they'd been drugged and robbed. With one last glance back at Ruby, Regina hurried out of the apartment, closing the door behind her.

She was just about to turn the corner onto the next block when she heard the sound of a car screeching to a halt somewhere behind her. She glanced back to see a black estate car with tinted windows parked at an angle outside of Ruby's apartment. Three men then got out of the car. Three very large, very unfriendly looking men. They were followed by a fourth man. He was much smaller and wore a crisp suit. He walked with a gold topped cane and there was no doubt in Regina's mind that he was the boss, and he was dangerous.

As she watched, the suited man nodded and one of the muscle men stepped forward and kicked down Ruby's door with only one swift blow. The three then drew their guns and piled in through the hole where the door used to be, followed after a moment by the man in the suit.

Dread settled in the pit of Regina's stomach. Those men could not possibly be there for anything good, and even worse than that, Ruby would still be unconscious and unable to even defend herself.

Regina was moving back towards the apartment before she even realised what she was doing, the knot of pure fear inside her forcing her to admit to herself that she would have gone back to help even if she hadn't left Ruby unconscious and defenceless.

When she reached the fallen door Regina crept as quietly as possible down the hallway to the living area. She peeked her head round the doorway into the room, and luckily all four men had their backs to her and so didn't notice her presence. However what she saw made her feel sick. Two of the muscle men held Ruby upright, one holding each arm, and the third was hitting her. In the stomach, in the face, wherever he felt like it. Ruby was conscious, but only just, and the blows to her face weren't helping. The man in the suit was watching and smiling. Regina didn't know what to do. There was no way she could take on all four men, but she couldn't stand by and do nothing.

While she was still trying to think of some kind of plan, the man in the suit held up a hand. Immediately the thug stopped hitting Ruby, and Regina let out a small sigh of relief.

"I'm very disappointed in you Ruby," the man in the suit said. He had a faint Scottish accent and his voice sent shivers down Regina's spine. "Our deal was for you to get me that tiara in exchange for a termination of our… working relationship. But I don't appear to have my tiara, so it looks like you'll have to remain in my service for a while longer, doesn't it? Unless you'd like to reconsider and tell me where the tiara is? I know it was stolen tonight."

The man approached Ruby and bent down so his face was level with hers. Regina suddenly understood why Ruby had been so desperate to steal back the tiara, and the weight of the object in a pouch attached to her belt suddenly felt infinitely heavier.

Ruby looked up at the man, her eyes beginning to regain some focus, and for a horrible moment Regina thought that Ruby would tell this man that she had the tiara, and exactly where he could find her. Instead she closed her eyes and croaked out three words.

"Screw you, Gold."

Regina almost sobbed in relief, until Gold nodded and his lackey began beating Ruby once more. It did, however, make Regina's plan of action much clearer.

She removed the tiara from its pouch on her belt, along with her gun, and stepped soundlessly into the room, aiming the gun directly at Gold.

"I have your tiara," she said, her voice calm and clear.

Every head in the room turned to face her and the thug who had been hitting Ruby took a step towards her, but was halted by Gold raising a hand.

Regina had never actually shot anyone before, but she had practiced enough at the gun range to have a firm and steady hand, and clearly Gold didn't want to take any chances with his life.

"And who might you be dearie?" He asked.

Regina tightened her grip on her gun.

"That's not important. All you need to know is that I have the tiara and will give it to you as per the terms of your original agreement. That is in exchange for ending Ruby's service to you. Do we have a deal?"

Regina held the tiara up where he could see it and watched his eyes flick from her, to the tiara, to her gun, to Ruby, as he contemplated his options. Eventually he nodded.

"Alright dearie, we have a deal."

He nodded again to his henchmen, who released Ruby. She crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath. Regina wanted to run over to her and make sure she was okay, but she forced herself to remain still, her gun never wavering from aiming at Gold.

He walked slowly towards her and held out his hand. Regina held out the tiara, and as he took it he narrowed his eyes.

"Pleasure doing business with you, dearie. I do hope our paths will cross again in the future."

Regina wasn't sure if it was meant as a threat or a compliment. She had a horrible suspicion that she'd just made a very dangerous enemy.

With tiara in hand he and his thugs turned to leave, and Regina made sure to keep her gun aimed at Gold the entire time. As soon as she heard their car engine start Regina rushed over to Ruby, dropping her gun on the floor.

"Ruby! Are you alright?"

Regina lifted Ruby's head and cradled it in her lap. She already had a black eye forming. She smiled and Regina could see blood on her teeth.

"Why did you do that?" She asked, her words still slurring slightly. Regina stroked her hair from her face.

"I couldn't just leave you," she said, her voice coming out barely louder than a whisper.

"Yes you could. That had nothing to do with you, you didn't have to come back, so why did you?"

Regina paused, the backs of her fingers resting against Ruby's cheek.

"I couldn't just leave you."


	6. Home Sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina meets Ruby's Grandmother, and is surprised to find that there's more to her than meets the eye.

The longer they sat there, with Ruby's head cradled in her lap, the more Regina could feel her insides twisting with guilt. She didn't know what to say. What _could_ she say? _Sorry for drugging you and potentially leaving you to be killed?_ That wouldn't quite cut it.

Ruby was beginning to seem more like herself though. She was looking up at Regina and her eyes were clear and focussed. After a while she tried to sit up, groaning loudly.

"Regina," she said, her voice sounding smaller than Regina had ever heard it, "would you take me home, please?"

That was probably not a good sign.

"Perhaps I should take you to hospital to get you checked for concussion?"

"No!" Ruby said more forcefully, trying to push herself to feet and wincing visibly. "I just need to go home."

Regina stood and wrapped an arm around Ruby's waist to support her as she helped her to her feet.

"Ruby we're at your apartment, you're already home."

Ruby took a step forward and gasped in pain, closing her eyes.

"You don't think I'm stupid enough to let you or Gold know where I _actually_ live, do you? This is just where I bring people, not my home."

She took another few steps and Regina couldn't help but smile to herself. It had never even crossed her mind that this apartment might just be for show, but now that she knew it made a lot of sense, especially considering the lack of food in the kitchen. Turns out she hadn't managed to find out everything there was to know about Ruby Lucas after all. 

"So if I take you home now how much will that lower your IQ then?" Regina teased.

Ruby started to laugh but it quickly turned into a gasp of pain.

"Perhaps I'll have to knock _you_ out so you forget where it is. That should keep my IQ intact."

Ruby's tone was light and playful but Regina still felt the words like a punch in the gut.

She opened her mouth to apologise. She really should say sorry.

But she shut it again without saying a word.

\--------------------------------

After a painfully slow walk out to the street with Regina half carrying Ruby, she finally managed to hail a cab. Her eyebrows rose in surprise at the address Ruby gave the driver. Woodland Park. It was a quiet little suburb, mostly full of retired people. She would never in a million years have imagined that Ruby would live there, which she supposed was probably the whole point.

She ended up paying the driver double for him to keep quiet and not insist on taking them to hospital instead, even if she really did think that Ruby needed to go and get checked out. But Ruby was adamant that she didn't want to go to hospital and Regina wasn't about to violate her trust. Again.

They finally pulled up outside a picture perfect little house, and had barely made it half way up the garden path when the front door was flung open to reveal an incredibly worried looking woman with wiry grey hair and wearing a floral apron. She dashed towards them, barely glancing at Regina, and hurried to Ruby's other side, helping Regina support her weight as they made their way into the house.

"I'll kill that son of a bitch!" The woman growled, and Ruby gave another laugh-cough-groan.

"One day Granny, one day."

They lowered Ruby gently down onto the couch and Granny (Regina didn't know what else to call her) hurried over to the kitchen. Regina could hear her opening cupboards and running water and she hovered uncertainly, not sure if she should stay or go.

Granny appeared again a moment later and thrust a bowl of water and a linen cloth into her hands.

"Make yourself useful, clean up her wounds," she barked, and normally Regina would take offence at being told what to do like that, but right now it was kind of a relief.

She set to work gently washing the blood from Ruby's face, her other hand absentmindedly stroking through Ruby's hair.

She had just finished when Granny reappeared holding several icepacks which Ruby took gratefully, holding one to her eye and one to her ribs.

"I'm going to look like a Picasso painting tomorrow," she groaned.

Granny sat herself down in the armchair apposite them and Regina quickly pulled her hands away form Ruby, feeling self-conscious.

"How did this happen?" Granny asked, her features stony.

There were very few people in the world who Regina found intimidating, but she would definitely think twice before crossing this woman.

"It's a long story," Ruby sighed.

Granny shrugged.

"I'm not about to die just yet, I think I've got time."

"Well, Gold and his cronies turned up at the apartment and caught me by surprise."

Regina squirmed in her seat knowing what had actually happened. There was no way she could come out of this story looking good, and the thought of Ruby's grandmother knowing what she had done bothered her more than she cared to admit.

"I didn't have the tiara so, well, you can see what happened."

Ruby waved an ice pack around before putting back on her eye with a hiss.

"But then Regina arrived with the tiara and traded it with Gold for an end to my relationship with him."

Granny's full attention turned to her then and Regina had to fight the urge to shrink a little under her intense gaze.

"So you just gave away a tiara worth millions of dollars? Just like that?" Granny asked, narrowing her eyes.

Regina did squirm a little in her seat then. She was grateful that Ruby had omitted the majority of her part in this story, but more than that she was surprised that Granny knew about the tiara, and presumably how her granddaughter had obtained it, as well as her involvement with a man like Gold.

It made her feel somewhat jealous, if she was being honest with herself. Regina hadn't spoken to her mother or sister, with good reason, since her father had passed away. She had no one to share any of her life with, especially not this part, and she suddenly realised how nice it would be to have someone she could talk to about it all, without having to lie or hide what she got up to at night.

"Yes," she finally replied, "it was the only way to resolve the situation."

Granny frowned and Regina got the distinct impression that she was being carefully evaluated. For what, though, she didn't know.

"But it's hardly a long term solution," Regina continued, "that Mr Gold didn't strike me as the kind of man who can be trusted. He'll come back for you, Ruby."

Ruby sighed beside her.

"Nah, he has this weird thing about deals. He'll stick to his end of the agreement. Which means I'm finally free."

She closed her eyes and smiled, and Regina could practically see the weight lifting from her shoulders.

"How did you get involved with a man like that in the first place?" Regina asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Ruby opened her eyes and looked at Granny, who nodded after a moment.

"Granny used to run a guest house and Mr Gold was our landlord. Business wasn't regular so we got behind on our rent and he was going to evict us. That's when I became The Scarlet Wolf. I stole the money we owed him from Storybrooke National Bank, that was my first heist. But..."

"Wait, that was your first ever job?" Regina interrupted.

Ruby nodded.

"But… _how_? How did you manage such a complicated heist as your first ever job?" She asked incredulously.

The corner of Ruby's mouth twitched into a smile.

"Back in the day Granny was the best in the business. They called her The Lone wolf. She taught me everything I know," Ruby said proudly.

Regina stared at Granny in shock. She'd heard of The Lone Wolf. Everyone had. She was legendary in the business. She'd managed to steal the Midas Ruby in Australia by taking out 40 guards single handedly. No one knew how. People called it the Oz Heist.

Regina wanted to slap herself it suddenly seemed so obvious. A granddaughter called _Ruby_ , who also called herself _The Scarlet Wolf_? She should have made the connection earlier.

"Ms Lucas," Regina said breathlessly, "it is an honour to meet you. I…I had no idea. You… you're a legend."

"Please, just call me Granny," she said, smirking at Ruby. Regina glanced over at her just in time to see her roll her eyes.

"Can I finish my story or do you need more time to fangirl over my badass Grandma?"

Regina coughed to cover the laugh she couldn't quite stifle.

"Please continue."

"As I was saying, I gave Mr Gold the money we owed him but he figured out where I'd got it from and threatened to tip off the police if I didn't do a couple of jobs for him. Well, a couple of jobs turned into a _lot_ of jobs, and I was basically his pet thief. But I saw how he liked to make deals, and how he always stuck to them, so I made a deal with him. I knew he wanted the tiara for his girlfriend Lacey, who is a real piece of work by the way, so I said I'd get it for him and in return I wouldn't have to steal anything else for him again, and neither of us would go to the police about each other. I think he only agreed to the deal because he didn't think I'd actually be able to steal the tiara. Well, the joke's on him though, because I stole it twice… with a bit of help."

She grinned sheepishly and Regina felt the twisting knife of guilt in her gut yet again. If she had just let Ruby take the tiara the first night they'd met then none of this would have happened. Every step of the way Regina had managed to screw things up for Ruby without even knowing it. She felt awful.

"Thank you Regina," Ruby said softly, putting her hand on her knee, "I couldn't have done this without you."

She sounded so genuine, so grateful, it was more than Regina could bear.

"I have to go," she said, standing abruptly and pushing Ruby's hand from her knee.

"I hope you heal quickly," she mumbled as she fled from the room, and from the house, without looking back.


	7. Déjà-Vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Ruby meet again under remarkably familiar circumstances.

Regina's heels clicked as she strode down the corridor and determinedly did _not_ think about Ruby.

In fact she had been deliberately _not_ thinking about Ruby all week.

There was no reason to, after all. Ruby had resolved her situation with the tiara and Mr Gold, and Regina had resolved her situation with Ruby's incriminating photographs of her stealing said tiara. Their business relationship with each other was done. Finished. Over.

Regina did not want to dwell on Ruby's bruised face shining with gratitude, nor the way she had grinned and made Regina feel so alive as they had plummeted from a building, and she _definitely_ did not want to remember the taste of her lips and the feel of their bodies pressed together.

It hadn't helped that the past week had been particularly quiet, work wise. She'd had nothing to do of an evening other than sit at home, by herself, and think. So she had been very relieved to receive this job offer, even if it was not the kind of thing she usually did. Stealing from museums just didn't sit right with her. But it was good to get out of the house, to have something to focus on, something to stop her thinking about how if Ruby were here she would almost certainly have abseiled down the building and come in through the window, or something equally as ridiculous, instead of coming in the front door like Regina had.

She pulled out her phone and sent the wireless signal that would disable the security cameras. She watched the little red light on the camera closest to her blink out. So far so good. That meant she now had approximately 20 minutes until a guard would show up. Plenty of time.

Regina resumed her purposeful stride down the corridor and eventually let herself into the large hall at the end. She sent another wireless signal to disable the alarms on the glass cases littered around the room, and then it was just a case of finding the right one.

She hated jobs like this, she thought to herself as she wandered around, peering at the objects on display, they were just too easy.

She had just located the ancient dagger she had been hired to steal when she felt all the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and a very familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"We need to stop meeting like this."

Regina whirled around to face Ruby. She was wearing the same outfit as she had been the first time they had met, though with the addition of what looked like a climbers harness around her waist, and the bruises on her face were mostly healed. She looked good, all things considered, and something inside Regina ached.

"Ruby," she breathed, and it came out as nothing more than a whisper, "what are you doing here?"

Ruby nodded her head towards the glass case which contained the dagger.

"It looks like we're after the same prize. Again. But don't worry, it's just a regular job for me this time."

She leaned in even closer and Regina's pulse quickened in response.

"That doesn't mean I'll let you take it though."

And before Regina really had time to process what was happening she was shoved backwards and a fist flew towards her face. She managed to duck just in time, but wasn't quick enough to react to Ruby's knee jerking up and hitting her hard in the stomach, sending her sprawling to the floor.

She felt sluggish, her brain not able to move past the confusion over the fact that Ruby was _fighting_ her in order to fight back.

Ruby advanced towards her and Regina held up her palm.

"Please," she begged, and Ruby hesitated.

Regina used the moment to scramble back to her feet.

"We don't have to fight."

Ruby snorted.

"What, and let you drug me again instead? I don't think so."

Regina didn't really think, just barrelled forward and grabbed Ruby's waist, essentially rugby-tackling her to the floor. Her hand closed around an item tucked into Ruby's harness and she pulled it free, a plan forming in her mind, finally.

They struggled together on the floor. Ruby was stronger but Regina had the advantage of leverage, sitting astride Ruby's hips and pinning her down.

Regina pulled Ruby's arm forcefully out to the side and then two clicks echoed round the dark hall as she attached the handcuffs first to Ruby's wrist, and then to the iron railing around the closest display case.

Ruby's eyes widened in disbelief and Regina breathed a sigh of relief, sitting up but not taking her entire weight off of Ruby.

"Regina! What the hell?" She demanded, and Regina scoffed.

"I could say the same to you, you attacked me first! What is wrong with you?"

Something flashed behind Ruby's eyes, Regina didn't know if it was guilt or anger or what, but instead of answering Ruby sighed.

"Let me go, Regina."

She sounded tired.

"Not until we talk about whatever the hell this is."

Ruby laughed mirthlessly.

"Oh _now_ you want to talk? Says the woman who ran away from my house and then never called?"

Regina stared at her in shock. She could hear the hurt behind Ruby's words.

"You… wanted me to call?"

Ruby looked pained for a moment then glanced away.

"I thought we… but it doesn't matter, I was wrong."

The ache in Regina's chest was now so strong it was almost a physical pain. She had never met anyone like Ruby before, no one had ever made her feel so _alive_ , so completely _herself_. She had deliberately not allowed herself to hope, or to even consider the possibility of a _them_. Except in her dreams where she couldn't seem to help herself, and would often wake up to lingering images of sitting in Granny's kitchen with good food and soft smiles and the feel of _home_ warming her heart, or to a racing pulse from pulling off an impossible heist, together, as a _team_.

But perhaps… Perhaps…

Before she could say something she would probably regret, Regina's attention was caught by a noise from the corridor. It sounded like footsteps. _Lots_ of footsteps.

"Regina! Let me out!" Ruby whispered urgently and Regina knew she had heard it too.

"They're _your_ handcuffs!" She hissed as she pushed herself up and off of Ruby.

Ruby blinked and then snarled in annoyance, as if the thought hadn't even occurred to her. Regina would have laughed if she weren't so worried about the imminent threat of discovery.

Ruby reached into her boot and withdrew the key, quickly unlocking the handcuffs and scrambling to her feet.

The flickering light of approaching torches began to appear in the darkened corridor beyond the main hall and Regina realised with a sinking feeling that they were trapped. She was sure she hadn't set off any alarms or been caught on any cameras, and she doubted Ruby had either, which could only mean one thing. They had been set up.

"Gold," Ruby growled, clearly arriving at the same conclusion.

"Unless you have any other enemies I don't know about, that seems fairly likely," Regina muttered, looking desperately around the room for an alternative exit, but finding nothing.

"Well, looks like you're going to have to trust me again…"

Regina turned her attention back to Ruby who was stood with her hand outstretched towards her and a wry smile on her lips.

She didn't even hesitate to take Ruby's hand. It didn’t matter that they'd been trading blows only minutes before, Regina trusted Ruby, and she was fairly certain she always would.

Ruby's smile grew wide and radiant, and she tugged Regina's hand, leading them towards the back of the hall.

As they neared the back wall Regina noticed what she had missed before, a thick black para-cord hanging down from an open skylight in the roof. This must have been Ruby's entrance, and now it was their only exit.

When they reached it Ruby dropped her hand and grabbed the end of the cord, quickly tying a loop into it.

"Here, put your foot in there, stand on the loop and hold onto me."

Regina did as she was told as Ruby clipped the harness around her waist onto the carabina a little higher up the cord.

As soon as she was done Regina shifted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the other hand holding tightly to the cord. She felt Ruby fiddling with something on the harness and then suddenly they were lurching up into the air.

Regina instantly closed her eyes and tucked her face into the crook of Ruby's neck. She was glad Ruby had used a winch so they didn't have to climb the rope themselves, but that didn't mean she wasn't still terrified. She was very grateful to feel Ruby's arm tighten around her waist, it made her feel a little safer. 

She even managed to open her eyes just in time to see a dozen armed police officers pour into the hall, but seconds later they were up and out through the skylight into the cool night air.

Ruby unclipped her harness from the cord and dropped to the roof beside the window. She reached out and grabbed Regina by the waist, pulling her gently over so that she could do the same.

"Now what?" Regina asked breathlessly, still holding tightly onto Ruby. She wasn't sure she could cope with another parachute jump, if that's what Ruby was planning.

Ruby let go of her waist and took her hand once more. Together they hurried over to the east edge of the building where there was another zip line set up which disappeared down onto the roof of a building a few blocks over.

Ruby let go of her hand and began unbuckling the harness at her waist.

"I've only got the one harness with me," she murmured as she stepped out of it and then held it out towards Regina, "you wear this and go first."

Regina nodded numbly and took the harness. Her heart was still pounding and the thick fog of fear was making it difficult to think.

Ruby helped her into the harness and tightened the straps around her waist and legs, then guided her underneath the zip wire so hat she could attach the harness to it.

"Okay you're all set," she said, urging Regina closer to the edge.

The thought of doing this alone was terrifying beyond words, but at least Ruby would be behind her, even if they couldn't go together.

"You'll be right behind me, won't you?"

Instead of answering Ruby leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to Regina's.

"Tell Granny I love her," she whispered, and then shoved Regina over the edge of the building.

Regina couldn't help the shriek that fell from her lips as she hurtled through the air. It felt like she was flying for hours but could only have been for a few seconds in reality.

She hit the roof of the building and was dragged painfully forward until the clip hit the end of the wire. After a moment she pushed herself shakily to her feet and turned back to look at the museum, hoping and expecting to see Ruby zooming down the wire towards her.

Instead the line went slack and then fell to the floor.

Regina frowned in confusion until she realised what had happened.

Ruby had cut the wire.

She wasn't coming.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, don't forget to [check out sinksanksockie's amazing accompanying fanart here](http://sinksanksockie.tumblr.com/post/130832414337/two-jewel-thieves-walk-into-a-heist-red-queen)!
> 
> Also I blame Kate for this AU entirely. She started it when she wrote [this thing](http://wilting-hearts.livejournal.com/70324.html) for me a while ago.


End file.
